COMPETÊNCIA EMPREENDEDORA E INOVAÇÃO SOCIAL: UMA ANÁLISE DO PERFIL DE EMPREENDEDORES DE NEGÓCIOS DE IMPACTO

Innovations are recognized for their importance to increase the competitiveness of organizations and the levels of employment and income of the population. However, innovations can be designed not only to create economic value, but also to solve social problems. Innovations whose main characteristic is to achieve a social mission are called social innovations and can produce significant changes in the communities in which they are inserted, compensating for market and government failures. Innovative ideas often depart from entrepreneurs who have intrinsic characteristics studied by various authors. Entrepreneurial competence and the role of the social entrepreneur are considered important aspects for social innovation. This article aims to analyze the entrepreneurial profile in social innovation projects and to verify how the entrepreneurial competence can influence these projects. A quantitative, exploratory and descriptive research was conducted with social entrepreneurs responsible for social impact business. The data were collected through a questionnaire to evaluate the entrepreneurial competence, validated in several other studies. As a result, it was observed that the entrepreneurial skills that presented the strongest in the entrepreneurs who participated in the research were the commitment, the persistence and the search for opportunity and initiative. Systematic planning and monitoring and goal setting showed low rates among respondents. The search for information, persuasion and network of contacts, the characteristic of calculated risk taking and the requirement of quality and efficiency also exhibited satisfactory results in more than half of the social entrepreneurs.